In the morning news

Just how challenging it can be to find affordable housing was made plain in a January report from the AARP and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The groups found that on average a senior has to wait more than 13 months for space in government-subsidized housing for those with low incomes.

Among this year’s winners of AARP’s Best Employers for Workers Over 50 awards, 31 of the 50 companies on the list offer retiree health benefits. That’s a significantly higher rate than the Kaiser study found, but it still means a good chunk of these “best” workplaces for older workers are not providing health benefits to retirees.

As the United States prepares for the next great debate on its ailing health-care system, support is growing for a shift from the traditional employer-based financing to publicly subsidized individual health insurance.